Am I getting the hang of this??

Since July, my landlord has offered to help me fence in my yard to keep out the chickens and pigs and allow me to start a garden, and, of course, to make it mas lindo (prettier). For a while I bugged him every so often about it, then as he was a candidate for mayor I let it slide a little, and when he won I backed off again, but it’s still been every couple weeks or so that I asked him if he was still able to help me, and every couple weeks he’s said of course, we’re gonna do it, don’t you worry. We only talked briefly, and about the fence, because he seems really shy and I didn’t really have anything else to say.

And on and on we went, for months and months, me hoping and hoping that some day I’d just come home and find the fence fixed (and the 3-foot tall weeds chopped down, something he offered to have done and I didn’t refuse). And for months and months, not a thing happened. Then, this morning I went to the mayor’s office, and I sat with him for a few minutes and we drank terere, we talked business and he asked me if I like it here and if I had a boyfriend (the only questions I ever get asked, it seems). He said for the thousandth time that he was going to send some guys to clean up my yard and build my fence, I said for the thousandth time how much I’d appreciate that because it’s getting to be gardening season and I’m really excited to try it. Five minutes later, I left his office.

Six hours later, I come home and my yard is cleaned up. He sent some guys (possibly on the city’s payroll, I don’t know) to cut down my weeds, and I’m willing to bet that this time when he said he’s get the wood for my fence this week, it may actually happen. All it took was for me to sit and talk with the guy. I should have known that was the key -- why has it taken me a year in this relationships-first country to figure that out!! Sometimes I think they told me everything I needed to know in training and I just wasn’t able to hear it yet.

ps - a week later, still no fence. maybe i haven't learned everything yet